The earthquakes in Mexico have not damaged the nation’s pipeline system, a system that U.S. companies are looking to invest in. For the past three years, the Mexican oil & gas market has been open to foreign companies — for the first time since 1938. U.S. energy companies looking to enter Mexican energy market are hedging their bets while the country grapples with what the gov’t says is mounting theft of oil and gasoline from its pipelines.

By Caroline Halter

Brewster County will no longer receive nearly half a million dollars in grant funding from the Texas Department of Agriculture, also known as TDA.

Brewster County Judge Eleazar Cano said the money was slated to go towards extending and improving water infrastructure in the southern part of the county.

“We do rely on these kind of funding opportunities to improve our constituents’ lives and even their ability to survive out here,” said Cano.

Cano explained the problems stem from the county’s previous county treasurer, who failed to properly account for department funds and deliver documents requested for the 2014 and 15 audits in a timely manner.

Judge Cano said he’s doing everything he can to get back in the TDA’s good graces and looking into alternative funding sources.

“We’ve even contacted Hurd’s office, our congressman, to try to get their assistance and you know, seeing if they could help us out,” he said.

As of now, Brewster County will have to wait 5 years before becoming eligible to apply for grants from TDA again, but the agency did agree to continue funding another project already in progress.

The “Voices of Blackwell” series is a partnership with the Blackwell School Alliance, whose mission is to preserve the history of Hispanic education in Marfa. The segregated institution was open from the late nineteenth century and closed in 1965 with the integration of schools in town. The first story we hear is from Mario Rivera who attended Blackwell in the fifties and went on to become Presidio County’s Treasurer for 32 years.

A new study suggests oil production in the Permian Basin could peak as early as 2021 due to geological constraints. This was the downside scenario gamed out by researchers with industry intelligence company Wood Mackenzie.

“We’re going to drill really really hard for the next 3 or 4 years, we’re going to exhaust a lot of parent locations, we’re going to keep drilling but we’re going to be drilling into pressure-depleted areas,” researcher Robert Clarke said in a Wood Mackenzie podcast.

Clarke said in this downside scenario, there will still be a lot of drilling, just of smaller “child” wells.

“Taking that downside scenario case forward, even in 2030 the Permian is still producing just shy of 30 million barrels a day. So this isn’t a story of it peaks and it’s finished,” said Clarke.

Another scenario considered in the report looks at how advances in technology could actually lead to widespread, more efficient fracking. This upside scenario saw production peak at 5.6 million barrels a day in 2025.

The Children's Health Insurance Program provides health care coverage to millions of children in families too poor to buy insurance and not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid.
GABRIEL CRISTÓVER PÉREZ / KUT

A federal program that provides health insurance for about 390,000 Texas children must be reauthorized by Congress by the end of the month.

Most of the children in the Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP, are in working-class families. These are families who are too poor to buy insurance on their own, don’t have an employer that offers insurance and are not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid.

Attorney Nina Morrision gets a hug from John Nolley after the Bedford man was released from custody after nearly 19 years behind bars on May 17, 2016 in Fort Worth due to efforts by The Innocence Project. Nolley had been found guilty of murder in 1998.
Photo by PAUL MOSELEY / FORT WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM

John Nolley always insisted he didn’t kill his friend. He spent nearly 19 years locked up for the gruesome murder. Then, a judge released him from prison, citing evidence that undermined the jailhouse informant who testified against him – evidence never given to his lawyers during the trial. | via KERA News.

The start of the 2018 election cycle is just around the corner and Democrats remain silent on who will be at the top of their ticket. Political experts believe the party may now be frantic to find a candidate for the job, via Texas Public Radio.

On the evening of September 15th, 1810 Mexican priest Miguel Hidalgo started the Mexican War of Independence with a ring of church bells and a call to arms – the “Grito de Dolores”. More than two centuries later, the cries continue. At an event hosted by the Mexican Consulate, musicians, students and community members from Texas and Mexico gathered for Independence Day festivities in the border town of Presidio, Texas.

Jesus Torres graduated from one of the last classes of Blackwell, a segregated school for children of Mexican descent in Marfa. The school closed its doors in 1965. His experience at Blackwell would inspire him to become a teacher himself. This is his story.

People line up outside of the University Co-op in Austin to vote last November. State law requires high schools to hand out voter registration applications to eligible students twice a school year. Photo by GABRIEL CRISTÓVER PÉREZ / KUT

Texas hasn’t been enforcing compliance with a 30-year-old law requiring public and private high schools to hand out voter registration applications to eligible students at least twice a school year, civil rights groups say.

It’s basically up to high schools to make the law work. But only 6 percent of schools in Texas are asking the state for registration forms, says Beth Stevens, voting rights director with the Texas Civil Rights Project (TCRP). Advocates say state officials need to do more.

In separate orders issued Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked two lower court rulings that invalidated parts of the state’s congressional and House maps where lawmakers were found to have discriminated against voters of color, putting on hold efforts to redraw those maps, via Texas Tribune.

The Vancouver-based Aurcana Corp. is drilling exploration holes at the company’s mineral deposits in Shafter, Texas. Four of six total exploration core holes have been completed. The drilling program tested silver and gold deposits.

Father Mike is a pastor at the Catholic church in Presidio, Texas. He moved to the United States in the late 1980s from his hometown in the Phillppines. He’s since made West Texas his home. Living in the small border town has lent perspective to his own immigrant experience. This is his story.

As the waters begin to recede in Southeast Texas, those affected by hurricane Harvey have more challenges ahead. One of those daunting tasks includes applying for aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

AT&T has reported a cut fiber optic line in the Fort Stockton area, which has caused a disruption in both land and cellular service. According to AT&T Government Relations, a crew is working on it and they hope to have service restored early this evening.

On this episode of Rambling Boy, Lonn Taylor reveals stories from Eddie Wilson and his famous Austin venue Armadillo World Headquarters, “an institution that dominated the Texas musical scene for a decade”. Eddie Wilson published Armadillo World Headquarters: A Memoir earlier this year.

The Rambling Boy is broadcast Mondays after the 10 am newscast and again after the 7 pm newscast.

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On this edition of West Texas Talk, a conversation and in-studio performance from musician, artist, and poet Ramona Rose.

Originally from upstate New York, Ramona came Texas via Joshua Tree, California, with intent to help with Hurricane Harvey relief – she ended up in Marfa after meeting some people in El Paso who told her it was a good place to start.

She stopped by Marfa Public Radio’s Studio A to perform a few songs and talk about life experiences.

They form a sophisticated society, with intricate communication. Prairie dogs are remarkable for their intelligence and sociability. And they’re a “keystone species” – a foundation of biodiversity – on the West Texas plains. They nearly disappeared. Our region was once … Continue reading →

Nature Notes is broadcast Tuesdays and Thursdays at 8:35 am and 4:45 pm.

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On this episode of West Texas Talk, writer, actor and director Johnny Stallings talks about Walt Whitman’s enduring legacy in American society. Stallings will be performing one of Whitman’s most renowned works, “Song of Myself,” on Friday, September 22 at the Presidio County Courthouse at 7pm.

Harley Tallchief splits his time between running an oil rig in Odessa, creating ornate beaded sculptures, and practicing traditional Native American dance. Originally from the Cattaraugus Reservation in New York, Tallchief found himself in Odessa after running out of money on his way to California for a job opportunity. Since then, he’s continued to work in the oil industry while continuing his native traditions. He says that beadwork is a reprieve from the demanding job of running an oil rig, “It calms me down… It’s like a therapy for me — peace and quiet…”

Tallchief’s first exhibit, “Beaded Sculptures,” will be on view through September 28th at the Nancy Fyfe Cardozier Gallery at the University of Texas of the Permian Basin.

5-9 am | Morning Edition, weekly morning news program with stories from around the world

9-10 am | On Point, news analysis program that takes calls on different topics currently in the media

10-11 am | Texas Standard, up-to-the-moment coverage of politics, lifestyle and culture, the environment, technology and innovation, and business and the economy – from a Texas perspective

11 am-noon | West Texas Jazz, Dave Leonnig hosts this program that celebrates jazz history and geography as related to the development and emergence of jazz art form in the United States

noon-1 pm | Una Hora Con Primo, locally hosted hour of all Spanish music with an emphasis on requests and dedications

1-3 pm | Here & Now, reflects the fluid world of news as it’s happening in the middle of the day, with timely, smart and in-depth news, interviews and conversation

3-6 pm | All Things Considered, each show consists of the biggest stories of the day, thoughtful commentaries, insightful features on the quirky and the mainstream in arts and life, music and entertainment, all brought alive through sound

6-6:30 pm | Marketplace, public radio’s daily magazine on business and economics news for the rest of us

6:30-7 pm | West Texas Talk, local interview program with a wide range of topics from artists in town to local government issues and more

7-8 pm | Sound Opinions, the world’s only rock and roll talkshow

8-9 pm | No Country for Old Music, a show dedicated to new releases within the month

9-10 pm | Groove Line, Leslie Wilkes hosts this groovy, funky show – playing hits from past decades sure to make you move